NIKHIL took her to her grandmother’s house in Alness on the Corentyne, opened the white picket gate for her, and helped her with her bag to the door because it was still raining.

“Thank you so much,” she expressed.

“Don’t mention it,” he brushed it off casually, and, noticing the worry on her face, he said with a little tone of concern, despite being a stranger, “Hope all goes well.”

She smiled just a little. “I hope so too.”

Her grandmother had developed a fever and had grown weak. She called the family doctor, who told her he would do a home visit due to the bad weather. It was a deep relief when he gave his diagnosis that it was nothing serious, just the common flu. He gave her two injections and medication.

Melissa made some vegetable soup, fed her, and stayed close, comforting her until she fell asleep.

Her mind now relaxed, Melissa settled down for the evening. She called Trevor to check on how he was doing and to give him the good news on her grandmother’s condition. He didn’t answer, but returned her call later that night.

“So how long do you have to stay?” he asked in a tone that lacked genuine concern.

“Just another day or so,” she answered calmly. “My cousin from Suriname will be here tomorrow to stay with her.”

“Good,” he said. “I don’t like it when you stay away too long.”

Melissa sighed, a little despondent, knowing he didn’t care much about her family.

Late that night, as her eyes closed in sleep, the last thought on her mind was Nikhil, a stranger and his kindness. Melissa returned home two days after her cousin had arrived, and her grandmother was doing fine. Nikhil had given her his phone number to call if she needed to travel back or for any other assistance. But she didn’t have to call because she had gotten a ride home with a cousin.

“I think I should call him, though,” she thought to herself, “to tell him everything’s okay because he had offered his assistance.”

She reached home late that afternoon. Trevor was out with friends at a football game, and the house was in a mess.

“Darn!” she murmured and put down her bag, feeling somewhat exasperated.

She forgot she had to call Nikhil, taken up with straightening the house, and remembered when she was in the shower. She called after, feeling refreshed and relaxed.

“That’s good to know,” he responded. “I guess that has taken some worry off your mind.”

“Yes, it has.”

Just the sound of his voice ignited a warm feeling within her, but she didn’t allow her mind to dwell on it. She cooked a nice, hot dinner for Trevor and waited for him, although she was tired and sleepy. But he came home late and intoxicated. He kissed her, drawled “Welcome home”, and collapsed into bed.

“Some things never change,” she lamented.

Trevor awoke late the next morning and didn’t go to work, whilst Melissa worked all day on some orders that had come in. He went out that afternoon but came back early, so they had dinner together. After dinner, he said to her, “A friend of mine has sent me some information on a house that’s up for sale in—”

“And the price?”

The price he told her was beyond what they had, and with their combined earnings, the bank wouldn’t lend them a large loan.

“The thing is,” she told him, bluntly but in a gentle tone, “you don’t work regularly, you don’t save enough, and I have a small business, so we have to look for something cheaper.”

He shook his head, sighed heavily, then said to her, “Here’s an idea: why not ask your grandmother for some assistance?”

Melissa looked at him, taken aback.

“What?” she exclaimed. “My grandmother is a poor woman barely getting by.”

“Yeah, while you’re spending money on her.”

Melissa couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and in her mind, she asked, “Is this the person I gave my heart to? Who I believed in and whom I had planned a future with?”

Those red flags that she could now clearly see were starting to depress her, but when Lauren, her cousin, called to say their grandmother was doing fine, went to church, and wanted to go to the market, it lifted her spirits.

“That’s really great!” she expressed. “She has beaten the odds.”

But just a little over a month later, as Melissa was preparing to visit, her grandmother had a sudden relapse. By the time she reached the hospital, her grandmother had gone too low. She reached out for Melissa’s hand, uttered her name, and her eyes closed softly. Melissa sat there for a long time holding her hand, too numb to cry. It was only when she left the hospital for her grandmother’s home that she broke down, crying for all the years, the struggles, the love, and the care.

The news of her death spread, and families whom Melissa did not know showed up to give their sympathies.

“And where were they when she needed them?” she wondered.

Even Melissa’s mother, who never called or visited, came, and Melissa gave her a cold look, saying silently, “Heartless woman.”

And if that wasn’t bad enough, Trevor did not show up to give his support, just saying how sorry he was over the phone.

“I have no one,” she lamented, and just at that moment, her phone rang.

It was Nikhil!

“Hey, how are you doing? I just heard from someone at the park about your grandmother.”

“Yes,” she answered, her voice breaking, “she has left me.”

“Darn, I’m sorry,” he expressed. “I’ll be there in a short while.”

She sighed and closed her eyes, sitting on a chair on the veranda, trying for some calm in her mind, when a familiar voice called her name. Opening her eyes, she saw Nikhil standing at the bottom of the steps. She signalled him to come up, and he said, in a comforting tone, “So sorry for your loss.”

She nodded slowly, trying to stay in control of her emotions, and, touching her shoulder lightly, he said, “Hey, you can cry if you want.”

And without thinking, she put her arms around his waist and, burying her head on his shoulder, she cried. He held her until she was finished and assisted her to sit.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

She nodded her head and tried to smile a little. “Sorry about that.”

“You don’t have to be; you needed that.”

He stayed with her a little longer, then called two of his friends to help set up the tables, chairs, and tents – it gave Melissa a sense of relief, now that she had help, and it made her better prepared mentally for the funeral.

The funeral proceedings went smoothly, and at the church, her tears flowed nonstop. Trevor had arrived that morning, and he stood by her side, but he wasn’t much of a support. She stood at the cemetery as last goodbyes were said, feeling as alone as ever.

“Go with the Lord, Grandma,” she whispered, “and thank you for all you’ve done for me.”

The rain started to drizzle, and family and friends standing around walked away one by one, but Melissa stood there, not minding the rain, until an umbrella was held over her, and Nikhil asked, “Are you okay?”

She shook her head slowly, and he said to her, “You gotta be strong, and I think she would want you to be.”

Back at the house, as drinks and snacks were served, Melissa lay down to rest because she was feeling light-headed. A long while later, she regained some composure, and Trevor, who had been chatting with her cousin Lauren, asked, “Feeling better?”

She nodded her head, not in the mood for any conversation. He left for home the next day, saying he would stay in touch. She nodded and couldn’t smile, knowing he was unwilling to do more for her.

Two days later, Nikhil stopped by to see how she was doing, and it warmed her heart to see him. Somehow, that beautiful feeling that had been lost from her life was coming back.

One week later, after putting her grandmother’s house in order, Melissa returned home, but things became tense between her and Trevor. He insisted that she use the money her grandmother had left for her to make a down payment on the house he wanted. Melissa had felt disheartened that just a week after her grandmother’s death, Trevor was talking about money, and she knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, that she would have to walk away from him to find a new life for herself.

And that night, the rain poured down again.

One month later, she left that life with Trevor, scrapping all the plans she had with him for a good future. She went back to that place that had been home, where beautiful, fond memories lived.

That small, neat house with its cosiness and warm intimacy was now hers, and a fair bit of money to continue her small business.

And with someone new in her life, the kind stranger on a rainy day who became close, she felt happy enough to dance in the rain.